Improvement in methods of hermetically sealing cans



E. R. POWELL. Method of Hermetioally Sealing Cans.

No. 220,307. Patented Oct. 7,1879;

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4; QQMM UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWIN R. POWELL, OF WINOOSKI, ASSIGNOR OF ONE'HALF OF HIS RIGHT TOLOMDUS F. TERRILL, OF UNDERHILL, VERMONT.

IMPROVEMENT IN METHODS OF HERMETICALLY SEALING CANS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 220,307, dated October7, 1879; application filed February 12, 1879.

' To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWIN R. POWELL, of Winooski, in the county ofOhittenden and State of Vermont, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in the Method of Hermetically Sealing Cans for PreservingFruits and other Articles; and I do hereby declare that the following isa full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will euableothers skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to lettersof reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

The invention relates to a method of exhausting air from cans forpreserving fruits, vegetables, or any other article subject to change,fermentation, or decay when in contact with the atmosphere.

Heretofore the methods principally employed in accomplishing this objecthave been, first, to place the article to be preserved within the canwhile heated; then, having covered the can, it becomes hermeticallysealed by the condensation of the rarefied vapor occasioned bythe Icooling of the can and its contents; or, second,

having placed the article within the can, insert the latter in a tank ofwater, which is brought to a boiling temperature, then seal the can andcondense the atmosphere in its interior by plunging the can in coldwater; or, third, to forcibly exhaust the air from the can after thearticle has been deposited within it, and then, by means of an air-cockor similar device which is attached to the can, to close the same.

The first and second methods are objectionable, by reason of theirfrequent unreliability and the necessity of a partial cooking of thearticles to be preserved, which prevents them from being kept in thesame fresh and perfect 7 condition as when first picked, destroying to agreater or less degree the original delicate flavor of fruitsespecially.

The third method is objectionable, on ac count of the great expenseattending its process, which seriously prevents its extensive or evenpractical use.

In the accompanying drawings, in which similar letters of referenceindicate like parts,

Figure 1 is a vertical section of a machine and a can in which myinvention can be carried into effect. Figs. 2 and 3 are detail views ofthe cut-off.

A represents the can to contain the fruit or article to be presel ved.It can be made of any suitable material, provided its ends are flexible.

a is an opening or orifice in the top of the can; b, the standardattached to the bottom of the can on the interior, and extending upwardnearly to the opening a, its upper extremity being constructed tosustain the button or valve 0, which is made of rubber or other elasticmaterial.

B and O are cones, lined with rubber or other compressible material, andwith outlets d and e in their respective 'vertices. The large diameterof these cones is somewhat greater than that of the ends of the can A.

To the outlet d is attached'a rubber or flexible tubing, f, which leadsto and connects with the metal pipe D, one extremity of which isattached to the outlet 0, while the other end, g, is designed to beconnected with an air-pump.

In the pipe D is a cut-off, E, which is so constructed that by turningits handle in difierent directions the passage through it in the pipe Dis either uninterrupted or completely closed or opened from eithersection of the pipe to the atmosphere without.

The operation of the device is as follows: The whole apparatus shouldfirst be fitted to a table or bench, F, and the end 9 of the pipe Dconnected with a suitable air-pump. The cut-oft E should then be soturned as to secure an uninterrupted passage fromthe air-pump to thecone 0 through the pipe D.

The can A, having first been filled with the article to be preserved inwhatever condition it is desired to keep it, has its cover permanentlysecured to it, the stationary button or valve 0 being first placed uponthe extremity of the standard b and immediately below the outlet a ofthe cover. The can is then placed upright within the cone 0, and thecone B pressed over its top. By means of the airpump the air is thenpractically exhausted through the open pipes D and f from the cone 0,the can A, and the cone B, which has the efi'ect to cause thecompressible lining of the cones to be compressed more closely againstthe upper and lower edges of the can, thus forming an air-tight joint attheir respective points of intersection. The vacuum which is thuscreated in the interior of the can and cones leaves the can in itsnormal shape as the atmospheric pressure at each end of the can isrelieved.

If desired, an indicator may be placed in the pipe D, to show theexistence of this vacuum in the parts named.

Communication between the cones B and C and the air-pump is then closedby means of the cut-off E; then, by properly turning the handle of thecut-0E E, the atmosphere is admitted into the section 1' of the pipe D,which lies between the cut-ofl'and the cone 0, and through this cone itpresses against the bottom of the can, concaving it at the surface to aheight suflicient to force the stationary valve 0 into the opening a,which practically closes the outlet of the can A and hermetically sealsit.

By turning the handle of the cut-ofi'in another direction the atmosphereis admitted into the tube f, which produces a similar eli'ect upon thetop of the can, thus forcing the valve 0 still farther, if possible,into the opening (1. Thus effectually and simply sealed, the contents ofthe can will continue unchanged as long as a vacuum continues within thecan. The vacuum within the cones ceasing with the admission to each ofthe atmosphere through the small hole 0 in the handle of the cut-off E,the pressure of the cones upon the-can is at once relieved, when the canis readily removed, another can inserted in its place, and the processrepeated as often as desired.

By this device fruits or vegetables can be preserved as fresh and in thesame condition in all respects as when first placed within the can, andat less expense than that of the ordinary cooking method.

No claim is here made to the apparatus for exhausting the air, as thatwill form the subject of another application; nor is any claim here laidto the can, as that will also be made a part of another application.

What I claim is- The process of sealing cans eonsistin g in exhaustingthe air from the interior of the can and from around the exterior ofboth ends, and then alternately admitting the air to the exterior of theends, whereby they are made to bulge inward from atmosphericpressure,and thus close the valve against the opening in the head, substantiallyas specified.

In testimony that 1 claim the foregoing as my own I do affix mysignature in presence of two witnesses.

EDWIN R. POWELL.

Witnesses:

CHARLES E. ALLEN, EIHELBERT SELDEN.

